How to Be Good Parents
by Wordless Mage
Summary: What will you do if one day you find a child outside of your door? Yata thought he should do the two best actions: tell Fushimi and then faint. Fushimi just wanted to get rid of the kid but of course it wasn't that easy. Well, they would just have to learn how to take care of a child – and maybe some other things in the process.
1. Prologue

**Title: **How to Be Good Parents (Kind of)

**Author: **Wordless Mage

**Character: **Fushimi Saruhiko, Yata Misaki

**Genre: **Romance, Family, and a _bit _of fluff

**Summary:** What will you do if one day you find a child outside of your door? Yata thought he should do the two best actions: tell Fushimi and then faint. Fushimi just wanted to get rid of the kid but of course it wasn't that easy. Well, they would just have to learn how to take care of a child – and maybe some other things in the process. _SARUMI AU_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own K.

* * *

**Prologue**

A young woman in her mid-twenties was standing behind the bookshelf near the counter, absentmindedly flipping through the pages of the book in her hand but she wasn't even looking at the book. No, her eyes were set on a certain young man who was crouched down in front of the counter, talking animatedly with a few children. If she thought she didn't look suspicious, she was dead wrong; the teenage girl at the next shelf was looking at her weirdly, plus her book was upside down. But, it wasn't like she cared about that. She had an important matter in mind after all – and it was more important than the girl that was looking at her weirdly.

The young man was already standing up; currently, he was patting one of the kids on her head. Ayuri stopped turning the page of the book and then put it back on the shelf. On a second thought, she grabbed the book back and then slowly she walked to the counter (but not before giving a 'what's-your-problem' look to the girl at the next shelf). By the time she got to the counter, the young man was already standing behind the counter together with another young man who was wearing a pair of shades – why would he wear shades inside, anyway? She put the book in her hand on the counter, smiling at the two men. The man wearing shades smiled at her, looking a bit amused.

She directed her eyes at the man she was _observing_ – maybe for two days – and smiled wider. He blushed and smiled back. _Aw, how cute._

"You like kids?" Ayuri asked while the guy scanned the barcode behind the book. He stopped and looked at her.

"Huh?" he raised an eyebrow. Well, if a pretty lady suddenly asked you that question out of nowhere, you'd be confused, too. "Um, well, yeah. They're cute," he replied.

"Are you good with kids?" She pressed. She could tell the guy was kind of perplexed by her questions but you can't blame her. She was curious and his answers were kind of important.

He hesitated for a few seconds before he shrugged. "I guess. It's not that hard," he answered. "Why? You need a babysitter?" he continued jokingly. Ayuri didn't smile; she just looked straight at the guy, thinking if she should just skip the trouble and tell the guy. Maybe he would be considerate – as considerate as a person can when asked a hard-to-fulfil favour. The guy noticed that Ayuri wasn't smiling, shifted uncomfortably.

"Well," Ayuri began, smiling slightly, "somewhat." The guy looked at her, confused, again.

"Oh," he voiced.

"I'm kidding!" Ayuri chuckled. Well, she wasn't actually kidding but the guy didn't need to know. "So, you like kids and can take a good care of them. Hm, that's nice," she said thoughtfully. "And you look like a very nice guy."

The guy smiled, blushing. "Well, thanks, I guess…" He finished wrapping the book and pushed it over to Ayuri. He told her the price and she paid him.

"Where do you live?" she inquired. Both of the young men were looking at her. She shrugged, "Just curious."

"Um, well, I live upstairs."

"Alone?"

"Nah, I got a roommate."

"Him?" Ayuri motioned the other guy.

"Not him. He's not here."

"Oh. Is he nice, then?"

The men gave her questioning looks. "Well, he _is_ a nice guy, but he doesn't really look like it." The guy with the shades snorted. "He's nice, sometimes," affirmed the former. "Maybe not to him," he said under his breath, stealing a glance at the man next to him.

Ayuri nodded and smiled at him, satisfied, before she took the book. "Oh, that's good then," she nodded. The guy smiled uncertainly. "Well, Goodbye," she said. She turned around and walked towards the door.

"Sure, bye. Please come again!" she heard him called behind her.

"Maybe, but I don't think so," she replied, not looking at the man. She didn't think she would be coming there during business hour next time, so it was the same thing, sort of.

Ayuri stepped out of the bookstore. _Okay_, she thought, _he's good with kids and nice._ She walked, not really caring where. Her mind was still on the guy. Should she really do what she was going to do? She did give it a lot of thought and even she felt like her decision was kind of stupid. She sighed. Maybe, she should just go with her first choice: the orphanage. But, she didn't really like that choice; she didn't really like the orphanage. She didn't want the kid, _her _kid to end up like how she used to be, bullied by the other kids and if lucky ended up with a bad caretaker. She didn't know why but out of the two – the orphanage and the guy - she felt like the guy was perfect for her purpose. To trust someone she _just_ knew – or rather, _observe_ – for almost _two_ days. It sounded ridiculous even to her.

Another sigh escaped from her lips. Well, she had time to think until at least that night. She was sure she could make a choice by then.

And she hoped it would be the right one.

Sighing yet again, she brought the wrapped book in her hand up and looked at it. She wasn't even sure what book it was. Shrugging, she slowly tore the wrapper then threw it into the nearest garbage can. She stared at the book's cover and blinked. Just below the name _Yatogami Kuroh _was the title of the book: "Sword and How to Take Proper Care of It" staring innocently at her. In a finer size just under the title it said "And How to Avoid from _Accidentally_ Stabbing Other People (No Matter How Annoying They Were)". Ayuri stared harder. They actually sold this book at the bookstore. Who would actually _need_ to buy this book? (She did it accidentally, mind you.)

She was about to throw it into the garbage can but decided to do otherwise in the end. Who knows, she _might_ need to use it one day.

* * *

Late in the night – or early in the morning you decide – later, the lone moon had seen it all.

A young lady was pushing a stroller at the bookstore's direction; she had placed the stroller in front of the bookstore's door. Soon, she had knelt at the stroller's side, staring down at the occupier of the stroller. The sight of a little girl hugging her blanket to her chest was what had greeted her. Her eyes had softened at the sight and a sad smile had graced her lips. The woman had stared at the young girl for a long moment before deciding it was time to go. She had produced an envelope from her pocket and had placed it under one of the girl's arms.

"Well," she had said, "let's hope that I'll get to meet you again one day, dear. I love you." And with that she had walked away and gone from sight.

The stroller had been left there, hidden by the shadow, somewhat hard to be seen.

Well, that was before the sun was up into the sky; before a certain young man walked down into the bookstore only to notice a dark object against the rather transparent front door. Imagine his surprised when he found out _what_ exactly that object was.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry to those who had read the earlier version of the prologue. I typed and post that version of the prologue at very, very early in the morning and so, I wasn't thinking straight before I did it. Now, that I have read it, I decided I don't quite like it and so I decided to rewrite it. It's basically the same – there aren't so many changes; I only change the place setting and this one is longer. So, I'm sorry, once again. (I will probably post the first chapter, on Sunday, btw.)


	2. Step One: Don't Panic

**Title: **How to Be Good Parents (Kind of)

**Author: **Wordless Mage

**Character: **Fushimi Saruhiko, Yata Misaki

**Genre: **Romance, Family, and a _bit _of fluff

**Summary:** What will you do if one day you find a child outside of your door? Yata thought he should do the two best actions: tell Fushimi and then faint. Fushimi just wanted to get rid of the kid but of course it wasn't that easy. Well, they would just have to learn how to take care of a child – and maybe some other things in the process. _SARUMI AU_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own K.

* * *

**Step One:** Don't Panic

The Scepter Bookstore was located in the middle of the city of Shizume, standing comfortably next to a café and among many other buildings. It was the most popular bookstore out of the few bookstores in the city as it was known for its comfortable atmosphere, up-to-date books and friendly owner and employees. The fact that it was located next to a famous café actually was another reason why people prefer it than the other bookstores. From the outside, people could see the new and most popular books on display through the glass windows of the store and they would never fail to see new books on display for every few weeks.

People of all ages liked to visit the bookstore especially during the weekends for they enjoyed the quietness and calmness they experienced inside of the bookstore. The inside of the bookstore was not only calming but it was also very well-organized and clean. In the middle of the front of the store was located the counter where the friendly employees could be found if a customer needed any help. But of course, the employees would not all stay there, some of them would be around the place doing their jobs. There were a few tables and chairs located in a few spots of the bookstore for the customers to relax, read books or do their works (some students prefer to do their assignments in the bookstore for many reasons). The bookshelves were organized nicely and the books on them were always tidily arranged and in order so it was going to be easy for the customers to find books they wanted.

There were few doors that can be found in the bookstore leading to the washrooms, the supplies room and others but there was a particular door near the counter that led to the second floor of the building, the floor where the owner and some other people lived. On that floor, there were three apartments and each consisted of two rooms, a comfortable living room, washrooms and a small kitchenette. The owner occupied one of them, the other one rented by two young men and the last one was still vacant.

One of the young men, Yata Misaki was the employee the owner trusted the most though he didn't show it. Yata had worked in the bookstore since he was twenty-one and had moved into the apartment the very next year. He was a rather goodlooking man with his shoulder-length auburn hair and tanned skin. He also looked a lot younger from his real age and a bit feminine, _just a bit_. His roommate always reminded him that he looks like a female middle school kid and he always tried not to kill his roommate because the rent was much cheaper with two people paying it rather than a person.

It was rather early in the morning and Yata was currently walking downstairs into the bookstore, absentmindedly scratching his cheek. Actually, out of the three men, the brunet was the one to wake up first every day, though Yata actually looked like the type of guy who would rather spend his times sleeping. But of course, you can't judge a book by it's cover. As another example, Yata, despite of his rather brash attitude and appearance, was actually a soft-hearted person and he really, really liked kids. Well, that didn't really matter...maybe not until the event that would follow.

A small yawn escaped his lips as he opened the door and entered the store. Yata felt himself smiled. He was not a very big fan of books but he really loved working in the bookstore, being surrounded by all the books of various genre. It made him felt very calm and comfortable. If someone ever told him that he would ended up working inside a bookstore a few years ago, he would never believe them but look at him now. Well, it wasn't like he was complaining; he really loved his job for a lot of reasons.

Yata's steps faltered when he saw a dark shape against the glass door of the bookstore. He stood there, trying to figure out what the object could be. In the end he dicided to just go and look at it. As he came nearer the door, the more he doubted his eyes because he knew that his eyes weren't very clear in the morning but he was really sure that the thing against the door was a stroller. Yata frowned as he finally stood against the door. He quickly unlocked the door and pulled it open.

His eyes widened when he saw that the thing _was _indeed a stroller. He walked outside, passing the stroller and looked around, hoping to see someone who would know what the stroller was doing there, outside of the store, but he found himself alone with the stroller; there was no one nearby as it was still quite early. Yata gulped, feeling a little afraid to turn around and face the stroller. What if there's a _baby_ inside of it? What would he do? But of course, he still ended up turning around to face it. Slowly, he slid down to kneel in front of the stroller and the good news there was no baby inside of the stroller...okay, maybe but not quite.

Yata found himself staring (and panicking inside) for what inside the stroller was a small child around the age of four, sleeping peacefully, a bit of her shockingly white hair fell on her face. Yata's first thought was, _why is her hair...white? _His second thought was, _fuck._ Yata felt like banging his head against a wall because he was sure someone had _purposely _left the kid there and he was lucky enough to find it. He _liked _kids, but even you would be surprised and felt hard to accept it if you were to find a child outside of your door.

Yata looked around again and still no one was in sight. He thought for a moment and finally decided to bring the stroller in as that was the only course of action he could think of and plus he didn't want anyone to see him and obviously, the stroller. Quickly, he steered the stroller inside the bookstore, locking the door before he made his way towards the door near the counter. He paused in front of it, debating whether he should bring the stroller up or not but he really thought he shouldn't because he really can't handle it. And plus, he was trying hard not to panic. He made his way towards the door then paused, turning around to face the stroller. It wasn't like the kid was awake, it wouldn't hurt to leave her there for a while.

"Okay, kiddo, stay here I'll be...back in a..." Yata trailed off, eyes wide, staring at the little girl...who had her eyes open and was staring back at him.

He stood frozen but in the inside, he was hyperventilating...a lot. He continued to look at the child, trying hard not to do anything unnecessary like faint. The girl stayed quiet, watching him with her surprisingly reddish purple, innocent eyes. After a few moments of staring, the girl blinked then cocked her head a little to the right. She was very cute but Yata didn't think it mattered at the time. He parted his lips, wanting to say something but decided against it. In the end, he just gave the child a tired smile, raising a finger as if asking for a moment. Yata hoped the child understood that as he ran up the stairs as fast as he could and then into his and the other man's apartment.

* * *

As soon as Yata arrived upstairs, he bolted inside and towards his roommate's room. "Saru, open the door! God damn it, open the damn door! Open up!" No movement was heard from the inside and Yata groaned. He decided to knock a _little _bit louder and lo and behold, the door was opened a few seconds later by an annoyed looking Fushimi. Yata didn't say anything, he just reached out to Fushimi's arm before pulling him out of the room and towards the front door but before he managed to drag Fushimi outside, Fushimi made him stop.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Fushimi, annoyed to be disturbed from his sleep.

Yata groaned exasperatedly and turned to face Fushimi. He looked at Fushimi looking like he might stop breathing any time soon. Fushimi raised an eyebrow. Yata kept opening and closing his mouth but no sound came out of it.

"What is it?" Fushimi asked impatiently.

Yata let go of his arm and got a hold of his collar. "There's a stroller downstairs and a girl, a little girl, and I don't know what the hell is she doing here and how she got here and I'm feeling dizzy and she's got white hair and I'm..." Yata trailed off as he brought his hand up to his head. Fushimi just stared at Yata, thinking that Yata was being ridiculous. Soon, Yata's body went limp and he was lying on the cold floor.

Fushimi looked at the limp body with a raised eyebrow. He decided to check whether Yata was actually knocked out or not by kicking Yata's thigh, maybe a bit harder than necessary. But Yata wasn't waking up so Fushimi was sure that he really fainted. Fushimi blinked before shrugging. He decided to kick Yata once again, just in case. Sighing, he bent down to grab Yata's hand and dragged the smaller body inside to the living room. Slowly, he lifted Yata up and placed him on one of the couches. Satisfied, he lazily scanned Yata's form. He recalled the things Yata was saying and frowned. He could remember Yata saying something about a girl, downstair, white hair and he being dizzy. Fushimi grunted lowly before making his way downstair. He was curious to just what had made Yata fainted.

* * *

The first thing he saw when he opened the door to the bookstore was white hair. Fushimi blinked. He trailed his eyes lower and was locked into a pair of large questioning eyes.

"Hello."

The little girl was still looking at Fushimi and she had a small smile on her face. Fushimi kept quiet, not answering the girl's greeting. Why did things like this happen to him? What did he do to deserve this? Why couldn't he just live his life without having to face things like this?

"Who are you?" he inquired.

"Anna," the girl replied instantly.

"Oh, okay, Anna, so…what are you doing here?"

"I don't know."

"Uh-uh, where are your parents?" he asked rather bluntly. He studied the girl and frowned. The girl was rather intriguing with her appearances and all, and there was just something about her that—

"I…don't have a father," she replied, face not giving anything away. Fushimi felt a bit sorry and guilty for asking the question. "I don't know where mother is right now." Fushimi frowned. _Did her mother leave her here?_

Now, Fushimi was never known for his kindness for most people actually thought he didn't have any but of course they were wrong. Fushimi was nice when the time and place was _right_. And the time wasn't really right at the moment - he still felt kind of grumpy - but sometimes, time and place doesn't matter. He was a human being after all and even he would feel sorry if a little girl not older than six was abandoned by her parents. And plus it was a bit hard to say 'I want you out of here' to _that_ face.

Fushimi sighed in defeat, closing his eyes before he opened them back again and locked eyes with the child again.

"We're going upstairs."

He was _so _going to kill Yata because if things like this happened, there's no one else to blame.

* * *

Carrying the girl and _then _her stroller was a _bit_ tiring and Fushimi didn't plan on doing it again. He brought both the girl and the stroller inside of the apartment. He seated the girl on a couch and the stroller next to it. The little girl, Anna sat there quietly her hands on her lap, looking straight at Yata who was still not waking up, on the opposite couch.

Fushimi swore he saw a ghost of a smile appeared on the girl's face and he couldn't help but to smirk.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Fushimi asked. Anna shook her head.

"You're not hungry?"

Again, Anna shook her head.

"Do you need anything?"

"No."

"Okay." Fushimi just stood, looking at Anna and then Yata. He sighed. He didn't know what to do as he was never good with kid and talking. Plus, the girl didn't look like a good conversationalist either.

"Let's just…wait for him to wake up, yeah?" Fushimi looked at Yata again, "Screw that, I'll wake him up."

Fushimi made his way towards Yata and knelt down. He slowly shook Yata's body and when the latter didn't react he frowned. Should he kick Yata again? Maybe, no. Fushimi sighed loudly before getting up, giving Anna a look before he walked into the kitchenette. He took a glass from one of the cupboards and filled it with water. Then, he walked back to the living room. He towered over Yata's head and smirked. He looked at Anna and the girl was looking intently at the glass in his hand.

"May I?" he queried.

Anna's gaze fell on him and she shrugged.

With that, he poured the water unceremoniously on Yata's head. Yata's eyes instantly flew open and he hurriedly brought a hand up to cover his face as he got into a sitting position. He turned around to glare at the person responsible for his wet state and was replied by a smirk.

"What the fuck was that for?!" he hissed.

Fushimi smirked wider then shrugged. "For waking me up so early –" he paused to look at the clock on the wall, "it's not even seven yet for god's sake."

"What do you mean I wake you up? I didn't even remem – oh." Yata's gaze was on the small form of Anna who was looking at him blankly.

"Yeah, 'oh'," Fushimi said. "What are you going to do about her?" Yata like how Fushimi said _'you'_ instead of '_we'_.

Yata didn't reply. He just stared at the little girl. He didn't even know what to do at the moment.

He turned to look at Fushimi. "Did I faint?" he asked. Fushimi nodded. "I think I want to do it again," Yata said as he was about to lie down but Fushimi stopped it.

"No, no, you're not going to faint again. You take care of her, I'm going to sleep."

"Hell no, you're not," Yata grabbed Fushimi's arm. "Come on, Saru, stay with me."

"No, thanks – You found her; you take care of her, _by yourself_."

"Come on, Saru. You're a nice guy. Help me," Yata pleaded. "Plus, you took here up here!" He looked at the girl again and his eyes fell on the stroller next to the couch. He saw something lying innocently inside the stroller and raised an eyebrow. "What's that," he pointed.

Fushimi followed his gaze and stared. "An envelope?" The dark-haired man approached the stroller and bent down to take the envelope in his hand.

"'_To the guy from the bookstore',_" Fushimi read the writing on the envelope and then trained his eyes on Yata, "that's supposed to mean you, right?"

"I don't think so. It could be Bandou or Shouhei or anyone else; I'm not the only person from the bookstore," Yata denied.

"'_The __short (sorry) guy with reddish brown hair'_, short guy, that's definitely you," Fushimi smirked.

"It could be Shouhei," Yata countered weakly.

"He's taller than you."

"Still, it could be anyone."

"_'The shy guy',_ That's you."

"Shouhei's kinda shy, too."

"He's not."

"He is."

"_'The girly-looking one'_, Okay, shut up, you can't counter this one." Fushimi declared.

"Did...was_ that_ really written there?" Yata asked disbelievingly.

"It's not but it might as well did," Fushimi replied. "But if this was meant for Shouhei it wouldn't be here."

"But..."

"Shut up."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

A small chuckle brought the two men's attention towards Anna. Yata blinked.

"Sorry," Anna said. She sat straighter and her face was back to her blank expression.

"No! It's okay," said Yata.

"Let's just open this thing," said Fushimi. Yata looked at him and nodded.

It took less than a minute for Fushimi to get the letter out of the envelope. He unfold the piece of paper and scanned it.

"_'I'm sorry for leaving my child with you but I have to. I have an important thing to attend to (it's life and death kind of important). You must be wondering why you and not other people or even better the orphanage. I'll tell you why, I don't like orphanage and I trust you. Plus, I don't think I'll be leaving her for a very long said you like kid and you can take a good care of them, and I believe you. That must sound like a stupid reasoning but I can't find other reasons. _

_I don't know why but I really trust you. And oh, you said you've got a nice housemate or roommate or whatever and so I hope you and he will take a good care of Anna. She's a nice girl (she will be six on December eighth, by the way); she won't give you any trouble. And she's an independent child (well, with the way we live, she ought to be independent) and so, she can do a lot of stuff by herself. And I want you to know that I will be back for her (hopefully, if I live) and I'd love to know she's in a good condition. I will tell you whatever you want to know when that happen.'_"

Silence greeted after Fushimi finished reading the letter. It stretched and in the end it was broken by Yata's exclaimation.

"It's that young lady from yesterday!"

"You know her?"

"Yeah! But, no!"

"What do you mean no? How can she just hand her kid to you then?"

"I don't know! This is so messed up."

"What if you're actually abusive? Didn't she think about that?"

"Well, she's lucky I'm not abusive."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Fushimi really liked saying '_you'_ instead of_ 'we', _didn't he?

"We're going to do this together; she mentioned you, too."

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no. Definitely no. You got yourself in this, you manage this by yourself."

"Saru, come on, please..."

"The puppy look would'nt work on me."

"Saruhiko..."

"Excuse me," Anna said. Both men instantly looked at her. "I need to use the toilet."

It was like the world freezed. Yata and Fushimi went rigid for a long time. They looked at each other at the same time.

"You take her."

"_Me?_" Yata stressed. "Why me?"

"She's your responsibility now and plus I need to get ready for work. So, goodbye," Fushimi said and walked away.

Yata couldn't do anything but stared. "That fucking jerk."

"Um."

Yata's head snapped towards Anna's direction and smiled sheepishly.

"Heh, um, you need to go to the washroom? Um, let's go?"

"Yes."

Anna got down from the couch and stood there waiting for Yata. Yata got on his feet then mentioned Anna to follow him. Anna nodded and did just that.

"What's your name by the way? I'm Yata Misaki, you can call me whatever you want."

"I'm Anna."

"Well then, Anna. This is our washroom; just, um, call me if you need help."

"Okay."

Yata watched Anna as she entered the washroom and closed the door. Yata turned around and let his back fell against the wall. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Oh, he will have a lot of things to say to the young lady when he sees her.

His eyes snapped open when he remembered another thing. Yata felt like crying. How would he explain all of this to his boss?

"Well, damn."


	3. Step Two: Be Tolerant

**Title: **How to Be Good Parents (Kind of)

**Summary:** What will you do if one day you find a child outside of your door? Yata thought he should do the two best actions: tell Fushimi and then faint. Fushimi just wanted to get rid of the kid but of course it wasn't that easy. Well, they would just have to learn how to take care of a child – and maybe some other things in the process. _SARUMI AU_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own K.

* * *

**Step Two:** Be Tolerant

Fushimi Saruhiko had known Yata Misaki for a long time – though, not very long. And from the first time they talked to each other, they both knew that they wouldn't get along well – they would not get along _at all_. Period. It was a miracle that the two of them were still alive after a few years of living together with them both wanting to harm each other each day – or in better times: each week.

The two young men first met when Fushimi was moving into the apartment when they were both twenty-two.

* * *

It was a cold morning in mid-November. A twenty-two year-old Fushimi Saruhiko grumbled audibly as he climbed up the stairs to his cousin's apartment. A few weeks ago, Fushimi had called his cousin (as his mother had suggested) and had asked whether he could stay at his place for a short while until he could find his own apartment because he would be transferred into a high school in the city of Shizume soon and he would move out as soon as he found an apartment. After a short moment of silence, his cousin spoke and told him that Fushimi couldn't actually stay at his place as he actually had a guest coming over most of the time (Fushimi didn't ask who because he was sure he didn't want to know), but Fushimi didn't have to worry for he got another place where Fushimi could stay at for a while or permanently: the other apartment above the Scepter Bookstore. He had said that if Fushimi agreed, he could make some arrangements for Fushimi. Fushimi had asked a few questions and had got some answers such as: "Yes, there's a person living in the apartment", "Yes, he's a guy", "Yes, he's normal", "Yes, he is not really weird or annoying". Fushimi had thought for a while and told his cousin that he would move out if the guy was either weird or annoying (or worse: both) before stating his agreement. For some reason, he could _feel_ his cousin's smirk before the line went dead.

And now, here he was, standing in front of his cousin's apartment with a small frown on his face. Fushimi schooled his face into an expressionless mask before knocking on the waiting door rather gently. Fushimi could hear the call of "Please wait" from his cousin before the door was finally opened a few seconds later. An ever-composed Munakata Reisi stood in the doorway, hand still enclosed around the door's handle. The man was wearing a simple white button-up shirt and a pair of dark pants. His hair style was the same as the last time Fushimi ever met him and that was a few months before, but only a bit longer. His dark hair was framing his pale face; his fringe was styled on the left, and a bit of his hair was sticking from behind his ears. His wire-framed spectacles were perched on the bridge of his nose, framing his dark eyes. He greeted the younger man with a cool smile before inviting him in.

Munakata soundlessly directed Fushimi into his living room and told him to sit on the couch and wait for him because he wanted to make some tea for them both. Fushimi had nodded and let Munakata walked towards a doorway, which he guessed led to the kitchen, and disappeared from his sight. As soon as the older man was gone, Fushimi let his eyes swept around the room. The living room was comfortable-looking enough – not very big, but comfortable – and he guessed, the other apartment's living room must be like this too. Munakata's living room was very clean and tidy; the furniture was well-arranged and free from dusts and the floor was sparkling clean. Fushimi really hoped that the other apartment's living room was as nice as Munakata's living room but that really depend on the tenant, who might actually become Fushimi's future roommate. Fushimi let his mind drifted to the mysterious (kind of) future roommate and wondered whether the guy was a clean-and-tidy or the okay-where's-the-floor type of person; the people-are-pleasant-company or the being-alone-is-better type of person; the silence-is-bliss or the let's-make-a-concert-in-the-living-room type of person.

Before his mind could supply any more idea of what-type-of-person-might-my-future-roommate-be, Munakata announced his presence as he gracefully walked towards Fushimi and placed a tray on the table in between the couches; he served a cup of tea to Fushimi and one for himself. He then made his way towards the seat facing Fushimi and sat down. The two cousins took a sip of their tea then began to talk. First, they had a small talk – which they rarely had. Then, they talked about the apartment and Fushimi's future roommate. Munakata confirmed that the apartment's design would be the exact copy of his apartment. He also told Fushimi a little bit about his future roommate. Fushimi found out that the guy was actually one of Munakata's employees, the Scepter Bookstore's worker and that he was a bit loud but he wasn't really annoying – or so, Munakata claimed. Fushimi thought if the guy was loud, he was sure to be annoying. Munakata suggested that Fushimi should go and see the guy himself if he wasn't sure and Fushimi agreed to see him later. He also said that he would make up his mind then. After that, they talked about the rent and other arrangement to be made if Fushimi decided to move in.

Less than twenty minutes later, the two men were done talking. Fushimi supposed the rent was alright and everything was fine – well, Munakata was really good at managing stuff. After making sure everything necessary was said, Munakata decided to take Fushimi to see his future roommate which Fushimi gladly said 'Sure' to. Fushimi had to wait for Munakata to put the tray away and wiped the table for a bit before they both went downstairs, to the bookstore where the roommate was supposed to be. Fushimi and Munakata stood next to the counter, ignoring the employee behind the counter, looking for Fushimi's might-be roommate. It took them less than five minutes to spot the guy, a short redhead who was helping a little girl to get a book from the third shelf from the counter. The guy was wearing a gentle smile on his face and for a second Fushimi wondered whether the guy was _indeed_ a _guy_ because he looked kind of like a _girl_. Fushimi shrugged. It wasn't like it was unusual; he had met a lot of pretty boys before. Fushimi continued to watch the guy. He looked like he would be around sixteen but Fushimi wasn't very sure; Munakata had told him that his younger employee was nineteen year-old. Well, maybe the guy _was_ nineteen because he couldn't be older than that…or could he?

"Do you fancy meeting him?" The question from Munakata broke his chain of thought about the redhead. Fushimi tore his gaze away from the redhead and faced his cousin.

"It's alright; I just want to have a look at him," Fushimi answered. He wasn't in the mood to talk to the redhead; he just wanted to study the guy. He let his eyes trailed back to the redhead. He was okay, as far as Fushimi could see. He looked normal enough (though a bit feminine), nice and not annoying or weird. He looked like he was the delinquent-type but as long as he didn't like to cause trouble, Fushimi didn't mind. "Have he ever caused any trouble?" Fushimi asked, not looking away from the redhead.

"Not lately," answered Munakata. "Yata was quite a delinquent before; always causing troubles. But, he's changed after I _talked_ to him. He rarely – almost never – cause any trouble nowadays. And despite his rather brash look and attitude, he's actually a really nice person." Ex-troublemaker was okay Fushimi guessed. And the guy – Yata – didn't really looked dangerous or anything.

"How old is he? Nineteen?" Fushimi asked. "He looks like he's sixteen," he added after a while.

Munakata chuckled. "Sixteen?" he repeated. "Well, close but not quite. He's twenty-two."

Fushimi instantly faced Munakata, an eyebrow raised. "Excuse me?"

"He's twenty-two," Munakata stated again. "If I'm not wrong, he is supposed to be older than you by a few months," he added.

"Him," Fushimi pointed to the redhead who was still helping the little girl. "Older than me?" he asked, pointing to himself. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Munakata shrugged elegantly as Fushimi's eyebrow rose higher. "So, what do you think of him?"

Fushimi watched the redhead, worrying his bottom lips, "He's okay, I guess. He doesn't look annoying or weird. And he rarely gets into troubles. Okay, I think."

"He's a good and responsible person," Munakata voiced.

"Doesn't really matter but okay."

"So?" prompted Munakata.

"So," Fushimi repeated, "do you mind showing me my room?"

* * *

That evening Fushimi had taken all of his stuff in and had already organized everything inside his new room. He had felt very satisfied when he first entered the apartment. Yata, the redhead, Fushimi's _new_-roommate turned out to be the clean-and-tidy type of person though he didn't look like it and so the apartment was well-organized and clean.

Fushimi was sitting on the couch in the living room, flipping through the channels of the television. He wore a bore expression on his face, noting that there was no interesting show on. In the end he just turned the TV off, deciding to just sit down and rest. Fushimi brought up his watch and looked at the time: _6.57 PM_. It was almost seven and Yata was not yet home. Munakata told him earlier that the bookstore would be closed by nine o'clock so he guessed Yata wouldn't be back any time soon. Fushimi was thinking whether he should wait for Yata or go to bed. It wasn't really important for him to meet the redhead but he was just curious about the latter; he didn't even know the guy's full name. Well, you see, he thought that should know things about his roommate. Since he just moved in earlier that day, he still felt tired and he was quite grateful that he didn't have to go to work the next day. He was just about to get up and head to his room when the front door was opened and Yata entered. Fushimi instantaneously turned toward the door. Fushimi blinked. It was his first time seeing the redhead this close.

At first the redhead didn't notice Fushimi. When he did, he blinked before a genuine smile bloomed on his face. For some moments, none of them talked; both were looking at each other – Yata with a smile on his face and Fushimi with a calculating look. Yata then made his way towards Fushimi, holding out his right hand, offering a handshake. The latter kept staring at him unblinkingly. It was Fushimi's first time seeing Yata this close and there was only one thing floating on his mind.

"Hi, I'm–" Yata didn't manage to complete his sentence before Fushimi cut him off.

"You really look like a girl, especially this close."

Yata's stopped walking and his smile vanished, a frown taking its place. "Excuse me?"

"What's your name?" Fushimi asked immediately. Yata's frown deepened.

"Yata," he answered, "Yata Misaki."

Fushimi blinked. Is he joking? "Are you joking?"

"No. Why?"

"Misaki? Really?" Fushimi raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Why?"

Fushimi couldn't help the smile – or rather: smirk – that was appearing on his handsome face. "Oh." He let his eyes trailed down the redhead's figure and his smirk widened. So, not only did the redhead _look_ like a female, he'd got a female-like _name_, too. "Mi-sa-ki," Fushimi pronounced syllable per syllable, testing the name on his tongue. "Are you really twenty-two, Misaki? Because you really looked like you're sixteen," he stated. "Or rather, you looked like a female middle-school student." That wasn't necessary but Fushimi just thought that it would be nice – ha-ha – to say that, the truth.

Looking at Yata's face, Fushimi knew that the redhead didn't really appreciate that. A deep frown was settled on the other man's face; his warm brown eyes were no longer warm, instead, it was glaring coldly at Fushimi. The guy's lips were set in a thin line and his hands were clenched tightly on either sides of him.

"Listen here," Yata said, after a long time of silence – and glaring at Fushimi. "I've never seen you before and this is the first time I've ever talked to you. But, I'm very, very sure that I don't like you. You're a rude jerk. And don't ever call me 'Misaki'," he added after a while.

Fushimi ignored the last bit. "Oh, so, calling someone a jerk is not rude, is it?"

"Well, should I remind you that you called me a girl first?"

"I was merely telling the truth. You _do_ look like a girl." Fushimi shrugged. "Though, not the pretty one," he added softly.

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

"I really don't like you," Yata affirmed.

"Well, I never really like someone who hates me," said Fushimi.

"Fine."

"Fine..."

And that was how their first encounter happened. Pretty boring, right? But, of course, this couldn't be all. Something must have happened because the first meeting was what the two young men remembered most of the times they spent together.

Yata spared another glare at Fushimi before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He breathed out, allowing himself to relax. He felt his muscle slacken and the tension in his head eased. Slowly, he opened his eyes and without giving Fushimi another glance, he walked out of the living room and into his room. Or, probably, he was _about_ _to_ walked out of the living room and into his room. Because before he could make it there, he made it onto Fushimi's body first.

"What a sensitive _girl_," Fushimi said under his breath. Yata heard it very _clearly_ – his ears were kind of alert to insults, you see. Fushimi _absolutely_ knew that.

The insult was very petty but Yata couldn't help but to be insulted by it. Without wasting any time, Yata turned around and walked hurriedly towards Fushimi. The guy (Yata didn't even know his name) annoyed him so much and it had been only a while. "You fucking jerk," he said before he brought up his hand and struck Fushimi hard on the nose. And listen here kids, Fushimi was never a person who backed down whenever someone hit him. He was a rather generous person; you hit him once, he hit you _twice_. And so, he did the appropriate – to him – thing: He hit Yata hard on his cheek and stomach.

"You hit me _twice_!" Yata exclaimed.

"And that matters because?!" Fushimi shot back.

And it didn't take the two young men even a minute to end up rolling on the floor, kicking and punching each other with all their might. Minutes passed and the two men were still on the floor. Yata was sitting on top of Fushimi, his legs straddling the dark-haired man. He was holding Fushimi by his collar and with his other hand; he hit Fushimi on his cheeks. _Twice_. Yata had a triumphed smirk as he hit Fushimi for the _third_ times. And unexpectedly, Fushimi had a smirk on his face as Yata gave the third blow. Yata blinked, surprised. Another lesson, when you're hitting someone and they smirk, you should never falter. Instead, keep hitting them because if you don't, they'll have their chance to top you – in this case, _literally_.

And so, seeing Fushimi smirking face, Yata faltered and Fushimi never waste an opportunity. "My turn," he said as he quickly toppled Yata over, his hands on both of Yata's shoulder. So, right now, he was the one who was straddling a wide-eyed Yata. His winning smirk was blinding as he looked at Yata in the eyes. "Surprised, darling?"

Yata's widened eyes instantly sharpened. He tried to punch Fushimi but the latter captured his hand and held onto it. He tried with his other hand but Fushimi did the same. Fushimi's smirk widened as he brought Yata's hands on top of the redhead's head and held them there with one hand. Yata glared hotly at him. "Didn't you hear me? I said it's _my_ turn." He tilted his head a bit to one side. "You know, you've got pretty nice skin. It would be a shame if someone ruins it, right?" He stopped for a moment. "Well, it's already a bit ruined. But you know what I mean; what a shame if someone ruins it even _more_..." He hit Yata on the redhead's cheek. "Sorry, my hand slipped."

Yata tried to get out of Fushimi's tight grip because he really wanted to kick that smug expression from Fushimi's face but failed. Fushimi chuckled at Yata's futile effort. "Now, be a good boy and let me do my thing."

"Let me go, bastard!"

"Less talking, more action, Misaki," Fushimi said with a sing-song voice. He shot Yata with a punch and was about to land another one before the front door burst open.

A disappointed Munakata was standing at the doorway together with two of his employees, staring down at the two men on the floor. Fushimi's grip loosened and Yata took that chance to push Fushimi off him. Fushimi landed on his bottom and he glared at the redhead who was glaring back at him. He was about to jump Yata again but the two men by Munakata's side were already holding them back. Munakata towered over them, frowning.

"I expected better from you both," said Munakata below whisper, his disappointment clear in his voice. Both of Fushimi and Yata looked at the older man. The words sounded louder in the two men's ears. Yata looked down, feeling ashamed but Fushimi held on his gaze. "Less than ten minutes and here you two are."

"He started it…" Yata said weakly. Fushimi stayed quiet.

"I do not want to hear excuses," Munakata instantly replied. "What I want is for the two of you to act like the adults you are and not act like children. You should know better than to fight with each other," he paused. "I want you both to stop this childish act. Whatever caused this, I want you to fix it. I'm not going to tolerate another fight under my roof. So, you both better apologized to each other and never repeat this incident." A smirk rose on the man's face as he looked at the downturned face of Yata and the glare from Fushimi. "You act like children and I _will_ treat you like one. So, now, _children_, apologize."

Both Fushimi and Yata didn't move. Yata was still looking down, muttering to himself. Fushimi was glaring at Munakata, it was clear on his face that he refused to apologize. Munakata held Fushimi's gaze, challenging him.

"I'm not staying here," Fushimi said suddenly, getting on his feet. Munakata's eyes followed him. "I'm not going to stay in a place with this guy." Fushimi pointed at Yata. Yata, who was already looking up since Fushimi got up, was frowning.

"Do I look like I want to stay in a place with _you_?" he asked, only looking at Fushimi. None of them spoke; they were both scowling at one another.

"Oh no, you don't," Munakata broke the silence. "You," he directed his gaze towards Yata, "will be _happy_ to have Fushimi staying here with you. And you," and his gaze was back on Fushimi, "will stay."

"What?" both young men exclaimed.

"I'm not staying!"

"I don't want him here!"

"You both will. So, now, apologize and be nice to each other." Fushimi really wanted to brush the smirk from Munakata's face. "Yata, if you want to keep your job, do it. And Fushimi, your mother would be _very_ _happy_ to hear about this, right?"

Yata watched Munakata. He had his pride and his pride was telling him to get up and out of this place. Screw his job, he could find a job better than this. But, Yata knew he couldn't do that. He really liked – loved – his job and he knew he couldn't find a job better than it. So, he threw his pride aside and took a deep breath. He turned towards Fushimi. The man was stubbornly not looking at him.

Fushimi was nervous. His mother would be very _happy_ indeed. He glared at Munakata. He had no doubt that the older man _would_ tell everything to his mother if he didn't do as Munakata said and he didn't want to think of what his mother would do to him. He silently cursed Munakata and his manipulative head. Fushimi looked down and steeled himself.

"I'm—"

"Sorry," Fushimi spoke, cutting Yata mid-sentence. It was clear on his face that he was saying it unwillingly. Yata blinked. He looked at Munakata and was unsurprised to find the man having a satisfied expression on his face.

"Huh?" Yata said but he quickly recovered. He turned to Fushimi. "I mean, yeah, sure. I'm, um, sorry, too, I guess."

"It wasn't that hard, right?" Munakata was clearly mocking them. "Now, I want you boys to make up. I don't want to have you two fighting again, am I clear?"

"Yes," both answered softly.

"Good. Now, get up, both of you. Go to your rooms and get cleaned up. Talk to each other tomorrow, _nicely_," Munakata told them. "Now, go." He watched as the two young men rose and walked away – Fushimi glared hotly at Munakata before he did. "Children," he said under his breath.

Munakata didn't know why he insisted on both men living together. Looking at them both, he was sure it was virtually impossible for them to live together and be nice to each other. But, it had been a while since he saw Fushimi got that worked up. Fushimi rarely resorted to physical attacks; he usually preferred to lash out insults. So, Munakata was curious to just what had made him act like that. He guessed that was why he wanted them both to stay. He was curious to how the two young men would handle each other.

"Let's go, kids," Munakata said to his two employees. "I might regret this later," he said to himself as they walked out, closing the door behind him.

* * *

The first few weeks were tiring for Munakata; the two young men couldn't spend a day without fighting with each other and each time, Munakata would have to separate them by himself. Fushimi and Yata knew they were being very childish but they just couldn't help it; their mere presence could set each other off. And once, while trying to separate the two, Munakata got hit, not hard but still. Yata had apologized profusely after that. Starting from then, Yata had decided to stop fighting because he didn't want to piss his boss off again. Fushimi started to get bored when Yata stopped replying to his insults so in the end he stopped baiting Yata.

And so, time passed and the two young men finally could spend days without fighting _and_ exchanging insults. The two of them had started to act very civil towards each other – though sometimes, they just couldn't help but insults each other. But one would no longer take everything the other was saying very seriously; he would just take it as a joke. And day by day, the two young men's relationship kept getting even better. Months after their first encounter, the two looked like they might be friends. It was quite a shock for the employees of the Scepter Bookstore's when had Fushimi came downstairs and had helped Yata with his job, but they all recovered quickly. And soon, they were used to the two's actions.

Fushimi could say that he was getting used and rather fond of Yata. The redhead might be a loud, brash and some (most) of the time, annoying but Fushimi also knew that the redhead was a kind and hardworking person. Plus, he could cook and do the house chores – Fushimi was never good in that area. Yata was also doing great in adjusting to Fushimi's attitude. A lot of times, Fushimi might be an irritating brat but there were also times where Fushimi would became a companion Yata very much needed. They both had their vulnerable moments and through those very rare times, they helped each other.

It was said that if people spend a lot of times with other people, they would get used to each other that they would start to copy each other's – good and bad – qualities, unconsciously. That happened to Fushimi and Yata too. Yata, who was always loud and lively, could be seen acting more composed and quite, though still friendly than ever and the other employees and Munakata approved of this change. Yata's friendliness seemed to rub onto Fushimi as the not-really-friendly and lone man was becoming a tiny bit friendlier as time passed. The other people noticed that Yata was becoming more cunning and it was no doubt caused by Fushimi's craftiness. Playing practical jokes had been the two's favourite hobby for a few months, since the two got along very well– Bandou was one of the lucky people who got to be the victim to one of Yata's (and Fushimi's) rather ingenious scheme. Yata got Fushimi's cunningness and Fushimi really thought that he got one of Yata's flaws; the do-first-think-later attitude of Yata that would result to disaster, most of the time.

There were many times when Fushimi would actually find himself acting before thinking. And this was one of those many times.

* * *

Fushimi had already finished showering and everything. In the shower, he had been thinking long and hard; he would not want to help Yata to take care of the child. He could be a good person but today was clearly not that day. If Yata wanted to take care of that child, he could either do it by himself or he could ask help from some other people. Fushimi stared at his reflection in the mirror, noticing that his tie was a bit crooked. Fushimi sighed then started fixing his tie. Looking at his now neat appearance, he nodded to himself.

Fushimi turned his head to a side, to look at the clock on the wall. It was fifteen minutes before seven. Fushimi combed his hair with his hand for the last time before he decided that his hair looked okay. After that, he grabbed his bag and head outside.

The sight that greeted him made him paused. There, on the three-seat couch, the child, Anna was lying down and appeared to be sleeping with her head on Yata's lap, her body facing Fushimi's way. The redhead, unaware of Fushimi's presence was threading his hand through her soft-looking white hair with a tender smile on his face. The peaceful expression on the little girl's face was simply lovely but the tender and caring look Yata had on his face was breath taking. Fushimi had never seen Yata look like that. The redhead was looking at the child as if he had known her for a long time; as if he was looking at his own child.

Fushimi cleared his throat.

Yata's expression faltered and he looked up, hand still through the girl's hair.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey yourself," Fushimi replied. "She's been sleeping for long?"

Yata nodded.

"You don't have work today?" Fushimi asked.

"Noon shift," Yata answered. Fushimi nodded. The dark-haired male stayed quiet for a while, as if thinking and then he sighed.

"Do you really want to take care of her?"

The abrupt change of topic surprised Yata but he didn't show it. He looked at the girl and started threading his hand through her hair again. The tender smile was back on his face again. He stayed like that for a few moments, seeming to forget about Fushimi. Then, he paused, remembering that Fushimi was still in the room and looked up. He recalled Fushimi's question and sighed when he remembered.

"I've always want a child of my own," he answered honestly.

Fushimi looked at Yata and the girl for a long time. He knew Yata loved children and he knew Yata wanted to have one – or a few – of his own. Fushimi had told Yata a lot of times that if he wanted children he should get married and make some. Yata had blushed and told Fushimi that he wasn't ready and he didn't know if he would ever be. That was quite funny; Yata wanted children but he didn't want to get married. The redhead would say that he could adopt and Fushimi would roll his eyes each time.

"She won't be staying here for a very long time, you know," Fushimi stated.

"Well," Yata began, "I know that. But, you see, by doing it I can see if I'm ready to have a child of my own or not. Like a trial version of a game," he added in the end with a hesitant smile.

"This isn't a game, Misaki. If you're going to take care of her, you'll have to take it very seriously."

"Yes, it isn't a game and I'm not going to take it as one, Saruhiko. I'm very serious about this: I want to take care of her." Yata wasn't looking at Fushimi; he was looking at the floor. "It doesn't matter if you want to help or not." Fushimi stared at the redhead and sighed.

"Fine."

Yata looked up. "Fine as in: 'Fine, I'll help you' or 'Fine, you're on your own'?"

Fushimi didn't answer. He made his way towards the front door and all the time, Yata was looking at him. Fushimi pretended not to notice Yata's gaze. He reached towards the door handle and twisted it around. The redhead better be thankful because he was going to at least be tolerant.

Without thinking long, he said, "I'll buy some stuff for her. You better keep her alive at least until I come home," Fushimi said as he opened the door. He looked back and found Yata looking at him, eyes wide.

The redhead recovered. A big smile bloomed on his tan face. "Thank you, Saruhiko," he said. "I owe you."

"Of course," Fushimi said, a smirk appearing on his face. "Don't forget to tell Reisi about this." Fushimi walked out the apartment and closed the door behind him. But, he was sure he heard Yata cursed before he did.

Fushimi made his way downstairs with a kind-of smile plastered on his face. Something interesting better happen and make his decision worth it.

When he entered the bookstore, Munakata was already there, in front of the counter talking to his employee. Fushimi's smile widened and he paused next to the older man. The latter stopped talking to look at Fushimi and his rare wide smile.

"Did something good happen?" Munakata asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really. I just want to tell you that Misaki has something good to tell you." Without waiting for Munakata's reply, Fushimi walked away and out of the bookstore.

Something good indeed.

* * *

Yata stared unblinkingly at the spot where Fushimi was standing earlier. He actually forgot about his boss. Now that he remembered, he started to panic again. He really didn't know what he should say to his boss.

"Shit," he cursed.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry for the late update; I was very busy finishing my assignment. I still have another one to finish but meh. Thank you for the reviews, follows and favourites. I hope you like this chapter!


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